Install a minimal server

A smaller initial system has fewer services and fewer choices to maintain. Add workloads after the base host is updated and observable, not during the install.

What minimal means in practice

Walk through the Ubuntu Server installer and make these choices:

• one administrator account, with a strong password you store in a password manager
• install the OpenSSH server when the installer offers it, so you can manage the machine remotely from day one
• skip the optional featured snaps. Every one of them is a service you’d have to maintain
• accept the default storage layout unless your plan from the previous lessons says otherwise

The installer finishes, the machine reboots, and you log in at the console.

Check what you actually got

After first login, record the release and pending updates:

cat /etc/os-release
sudo apt update
apt list --upgradable

os-release confirms you installed the version you meant to install. The upgrade list is usually long right after an install, and that’s fine; you’ll patch in a later lesson.

Then confirm the identity and network basics:

hostnamectl
timedatectl
ip a

Confirm the hostname, administrator account, timezone, storage layout, and network interface before adding applications. A wrong timezone makes every log timestamp misleading. A wrong hostname follows you into DNS, backups, and the runbook.

Test SSH before walking away

From another device on the same network:

ssh [email protected]

Use the address ip a showed on the server. If the connection is refused, check on the console that the service is running with systemctl status ssh.

Keep console or physical recovery access until SSH and networking have been tested from another device. The classic mistake is unplugging the monitor and keyboard right after install, then discovering SSH was never reachable, and dragging everything back out again.